To be honest with you, the team and I have been amazed at what we’ve been seeing the past few months! The subreddit is full with not only character skins ideas but also full ST sets, various new gear, new monster and more! That being said, I think it’s time to have an Art Contest ! We’ve had different types of events in which you can participate with your artistic skills. We had the Pumpkin Carving Contest back in October, a Guild Screenshot Contest (around Oryxmas) and a Valentine’s Day Drawing Contest. As much as you liked those, however, you’ve been consistently asking for another Art Contest, so let’s have a character skin one! A few rules have been changed, so let’s take a look, shall we?

RULES:

I. You have 2 weeks to submit your skin. SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 09/27/2019 at 13 PM UTC. All entries submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed!

The sprite sheet should display front, profile (sideways) and back views as can be seen in this example.

IV. Display of sprites:

Please provide the skin in Preview mode (GIF/PNG file) which can be done with tuvior’s tool. Entries that do not have such a preview will be disqualified. Background must be transparent (no background) or one-colored when submitting your preview, so the skin is readable. Examples HERE and HERE.

V. Please give a short description for each of your designs - don’t leave room for interpretation If you do provide a description, please make sure to separate the imgur link and the description into their appropriate fields in the form - any submissions that do not follow this process will be disqualified (including adding the description in the imgur link itself!).

VI. You’re allowed to use a design that you had already worked on in the past, as long as it’s never been used anywhere else.

VII. No copyrighted content, but vague references are allowed.

VIII. Deca reserves the right to disqualify a submission if it doesn’t fit the criteria above or contains inappropriate content.

IX. Award prizes will be given out the the RotMG account names that artists provide. Please DO NOT change your name until all rewards are distributed!

X. PRIZES:

Like last year, the top 3 winners will receive 1 License Key to the popular spriting tool Aseprite!

Additionally, the top 5 winners will be granted the following prizes based on their ranking:
*#1) 5000 gold, a character skin of their choice (only Skins that have already been sold on RotMG, including mystery box prizes) as well as their own skin once it’s released on the live server
*#2) 3000 gold, a character skin of their choice (only Skins that have already been sold on RotMG, including mystery box prizes) as well as their own skin once it’s released on the live server
*#3) 2000 gold, a character skin of their choice (only Skins that have already been sold on RotMG, including mystery box prizes) as well as their own skin once it’s released on the live server
*#4 - #5) 1000 gold as well as their own skin if they are released on the live server

Like last time, we will also randomly select one non-winning artist to receive 5000 gold, so make sure to submit your design by the end of the competition to get a chance at winning this amazing raffle!

After that, you, the Realmers, will have a chance to vote for your favorite entry! Your top 5 will be taken into consideration for the final winner’s announcement which will be done after some input from the Deca members.

FAQ

Q: What do you mean by “never been used anywhere else”?

A: It means that you can’t recreate a skin idea that had been posted by someone else on this subreddit. If you have a cool skin that you had already posted on the subreddit but which never made it into the game, you’re allowed to use it for the contest as long as you are the creator.

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Q: I understand the sprites have to be 8x8, but do we have to present them in 8x8?

A: No you don’t have to. In fact you must send us a preview (can be generated with tuvior’s tool) so they’re easier to see. What’s important is that it works as an 8x8 design.

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Q: Is there a specific theme for the skin?

A: No, you can create the skin in whatever theme you’d like.

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Q: Is there a guide on how to create a skin?

A: Yes. A former UGC member, Poshun made this video awhile back and it’s been a guiding light to everyone who wants to try out spriting! Thank you, Poshun!

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Q: Is there any way I can test my own Character Skin before I submit it

A: Of course! You can always use pfiffel’s tool, load your sprite sheet (Load Skins option in the upper right corner) and, if one is created, the dye mask (Load Mask option in the upper right corner) and see how your skin will look in action.

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Q: Will the winners of the art contest be added to the Contributors group?

A: The winners will not automatically gain admission to the Contributors group this year. DECA may offer certain outstanding artists access to the Contributors group at its own discretion.